Learning the Hard Way
by Jenn loves bones
Summary: B/B. At first it seemed like just another boring party Bren was forced to attend but things quickly made a turn for the worse... These are the rules she should have followed.
1. Don't talk to suspicious French men

The Party

Her dress shoved her breasts upwards, slimmed her waist, accentuated her perfect hips and showed off her pale arms. It was deep purple and gleamed gold in the light. She politely chatted to hordes of business men who seemed overly interested in what she had to say although their eyes strayed below her mouth. Their eyes glazed over and mouths were slightly open as their roving eyes admired her physique. She was embarrassed and very awkward in this situation. Especially in front of William 'Call me Bill, sweetheart' Taylor.

"Excuse me, Bill?"

"Yes, Sweetheart," he almost licked his lips.

"I feel as though you aren't looking at me or listening, would you rather I did a strip tease since you seem more interested in my body?"

His mouth positively hung open and his bulging eyes, increased heart rate, sweat on upper lip, enlarged pupils and shaking hands all screamed "HELLZ YEAHH" Wow she was getting really good at this reading people's feelings thing!

"Mr. Taylor, I was being sarcastic." Booth once told her that the point of sarcasm was not to not have to explain yourself, but this seemed to be a slow man.

"I, ahaha, Temperance, uh, Doctor Brennan, I did realise, I'm sorry. I-" As he fumbled for something to say obviously having completely missed the sarcastic note she interrupted his painful speech.

"I have more people to meet, it was...pleasant... to meet you." She stated while slipping past him leaving only the smell of roses and heavy sarcasm behind her. Damn, she was getting good. Temperance watched the door as more and more balding, old men entered with their gold-digger wives 'dressed to the T' with their peroxide-blonde hair, Botox-enhanced brows and plunging dresses revealing cleavage, no doubt also enhanced.

Temperance felt sickened at the amount of plastic surgery that surrounded her. She really needed air and a break from the lustful stares thrown her way and the whispered comments behind people's hands, particularly jealous, ageing women.

She slipped outside and pulled out her new cell phone, her editor said that she needed the latest technology so she could be taken seriously by all generations. It was a stupid reason but she took the phone anyway. She dialled Ange's number, it rung five times before going to voicemail.

"Hey, Ange was just hoping you were home, the party is awful, I wanted to talk to you but guess I better go back to the uh, colleagues and professionals inside. Bye, don't worry about calling back."

She realised it sounded a little desperate, but this was a terrible party, not that she ever really enjoyed parties, but this was at the bottom of her least favourite list.

"Excusez-moi, la madame. Je suis désolé de vous tracasser mais vous semblez malheureux." (Excuse me, madam. I'm sorry to bother you but you look unhappy.)

A young man had appeared; he had light brown hair which reflectedt the lights which hung over the trees for the occasion. Temperance raised her head and looked at him. He was definitely polite _and_ good-looking; he looked genuinely interested in her wellbeing. She replied in French also, unsure whether he spoke English but assuming since he chose French he could only speak that.

"Non, Il est bien. Je suis bien, juste un peu fatigué."( No, It is ok. I am ok, just a little tired.) Tired of being ogled more like. This man seemed different to the others and genuinely looked at her face rather than her body. It was refreshing and she relaxed slightly.

"You prefer English? I speak both but French better." He said. His accent was quite beautiful. She smiled.

"I don't mind."

"When in America do as the Americans do, no?" He grinned revealing gleaming white teeth. She smiled in reply.

"So, what do you do?" She realised it sounded vague but she didn't really care at this point.

"My job? I am a businessman in firm called _Précis LTD_," the French rolled off his tongue. "We deal in instruments for the doctoring profession, ah, the medical field I suppose." She nodded.

"Has taken large market share this year, I am excited at the growth, but please, tell me about yourself."

Suddenly embarrassed, Temperance ducked her head,

"I'm an anthropologist, I deal with...skeletons, identifying people." She knew it was vague but for some reason it seemed embarrassing.

"But I am also an author." Why did she point that out, she sounded so conceited, she mentally slapped herself deciding to quickly change the subject. But the French man did it for her.

"What is your name?"

"Temperance, and yours?"

"Ah, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman, mine is Julian."

"Jove's child."

"I'm sorry?"

"Your name refers to a son of the Roman equivalent of Zeus also called Jupiter, King of the Gods, what he said came true. His word was basically destiny..." she was rambling, she stopped suddenly.

"I'm sorry, I tend to talk a lot and people tell me it is unnecessary..." She said uneasily.

"It is endearing, Temperance, don't worry." She replied with a smile. His eyes were so beautiful, dark green with mysterious gold swirls. She glanced away and when she looked back, for a moment his eyes seemed mocking and malicious. But then it was gone. He smiled reassuringly.

They talked for a long time about everything, their jobs, lives, the stars, countries they had visited. She was charmed by Julian's beautiful speech. She discovered that he had no girlfriend and was 31 years old yet was always accused of being younger. She found they had things in common and he was so easy to talk to. Music could be heard outside on this lonely balcony and he asked the inevitable question.

"Shall we dance?" paired with a disarming smile she couldn't refuse and took his warm, golden hand, he kissed her hand before placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on her waist and moving imperceptibly closer to her. It didn't bother her, his breath smelt like toffee and strawberries. His hair smelt of apples she discovered. The warmth off his body drew her nearer like a fly to the sugary sap within a pitcher plant. They danced in each other's arms for what seemed a long time, she felt beautiful and happy, she felt as though the moment could never end their breath mingled and suddenly his lips caught hers. She tried to pull back, shocked and unhappy with this move their relationship had taken.

He pressed against her ignoring her muffled cries and attempts at pushing him back, he was strong, his warm hands became vices and held her tightly and he swore under his breath in French.

"You think I just want to talk, Temperance? You think I care of your Guatemala experience or your job satisfaction?" He smirked against her lips and his hand trailed down to her breasts. She couldn't breathe and tried to kick at him but failed due to the fact her dress was too constricting.

She gasped out "Stop!" breathlessly between his forced kisses which probed her mouth like the tools of a dentist.

"STOP!" she cried louder but the balcony was deserted from what she could see.

"I think we should leave now, let's go back to my place. I know you want to." Julian laughed and yanked her towards the side of the balcony.

"The shortcut." She noticed a car below with a man standing beside it dressed in black clothing. Julian's hand clamped her mouth shut and he yanked hand cuffs onto her bare wrists.

Temperance Brennan helplessly felt herself lifted up, now gagged, and hanging helplessly over the balcony wall with nothing to cling to but cool, night air.


	2. Don't jump from moving cars

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_A/N: Hey, guys, sorry to disappoint if you were hoping that Brennan would be curled in her bed in her track pants after chowing down on Thai food with Booth and discussing her ordeal by now. There's still more drama to come, I find it, strangely, a lot easier to write depressing stories rather than funny and light ones like my others, there are so many more words to describe suffering than happiness, what can I say?_

_Not too much happens in this story but I hope to get the pace picked up a little in the next. Cmon, escapes take time, people. Bear in mind, Booth will come later, hes not just there to pull y'all into this fiction._

_Please enjoy._

_Oh i just wanted to say, this story is written by Lisa, my twin and I share accounts but have similar writing style, Jenn is working on 'Vice versa' at the moment which is funny and light if you need to unwind after this depressing chapter. My other active story, 'Star-Struck' is too._

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Temperance Brennan was falling. Cold air rushed in her ears. Rough hands caught her waist. They wasted no time in hastily popping the car boot and shoving her in. She tried to scream repeatedly but it sounded weak and fuzzy through the thick cloth constricting her mouth and fear constricting her throat. The man in black laughed at her fear, his eyes were hidden behind black lenses. It frightened her more than she would care to admit to herself.

Temperance lashed out with her feet, a few well aimed kicks which didn't go amiss catching the man in his soft stomach and groin region. His collapse was punctuated with an "OOF" and he was, she assumed, on the ground since the light had entirely faded now and the car was hidden in shadow with not even starlight to light her way. She scrambled to get out of the boot but had misjudged its depth and before she knew Julian had slid off of the balcony and landed like a cat on all fours. He rose up with a sneer that she could make out now that her eyes were adjusted to the darkness.

"Tempe, Tempe, so heroic, mon amour, mon chéri." Julian made tsking noises with his tongue as though coaxing a cat as he held her down.

"Look at me with those eyes, mon amour..." She wouldn't raise her eyes to see that malicious face again. Not over her dead body, although that seemed to be tempting fate to use that cliché. He yanked her head up to meet them anyway. He was smiling. His smile was empty; the grin of a twisted man and reminded her of the grinning skulls she examined daily yet much more frightening. If only Booth were here. She was independent but a little help was necessary on the odd occasion.

"You make me sick." Her statement was muffled but held such contempt it seemed to sear through the cloth to Julian's ears. His smile turned into a sneer and he slapped her. Little stars spun around for a moment dancing in front of her eyes, doing the tango, maybe it was a jig. Her brain screamed "Kick, Kick!" But her legs seemed sluggish and she only managed to tap the lining of the car boot. Julian snorted. He tossed a musty blanket over her body and wrapped her legs loosely with another strip of cloth. She wasn't going anywhere he mused.

Temperance heard the boot thud closed over her and the world grew even darker. Some moments later the car shuddered to a start and they began to move. She tried to keep track of the way they were moving but the darkness confused her. She mentally recorded every left and right turn they took and chanted it in her head like a mantra while desperately attempting to free her head from its musty cover.

Shaking it repeatedly made her dizzy but eventually dislodged it. All was dark so it really didn't help. She was really no closer to her goal. She had to think this through. Slowly. She slowed her breathing. Her phone was still in her pocket. How to get it out? She used her feet to finally pull the rest of the blanket off of her. Things underneath her were digging into her back. The discomfort seemed to intensify as she thought about it. She pushed herself back further into the boot.

"Vous sentez-vous bien arrières là, peu un ? Non trop inconfortable j'espère ?" (Are you feeling well back there, little one? Not too uncomfortable I hope?) Julian asked her from within his car, another man, the man dressed in black she assumed, laughed deeply. He must have slipped back in the car when she wasn't looking. She hoped he would bruise tomorrow, then kicking him again would be even more painful. Frustration inside of her gave way to curiosity. Perhaps what she was lying on would be of some use. She was amazingly calm and collected. She used her now untied legs, that knot had been pathetically loose, to push the objects from beneath herself.

She bent over double like a pretzel and reached her nose into her coat pocket which lay beside her. She supposed Julian didn't want to leave any evidence that she had been there. Stupid of him to not check pockets though. It contained her phone and a camera. She caught the camera strap with her teeth and after a considerable number of frustrating attempts, managed to pull it out. Her phone she couldn't grip, though, and was momentarily at a loss. Hoping that saliva wouldn't damage her camera too much, Temperance turned it on with her front teeth. The light blinded her slightly but also lit up her small space helpfully. She could pull her cuffed hands to her side and inspect how they were held. Her first thought was that the cuffs weren't exactly FBI issue. They were simply a length of wire wound around her wrists. Thin wire at that. Julian couldn't be planning this beforehand judging by these terrible implements he was using. Or maybe he just had no idea about what Temperance Brennan was capable of?

Temperance used her teeth to unwind the wire. It was difficult but not impossible and despite scratching her gums in several places the taste of blood was a small price to pay for freed hands. She breathed out in relief now her feet, hands and eyes were free. She wasted no time in pulling off the thick cloth wrapped around her lower face. Now to think objectively. She plucked her phone out of her coat pocket, her heart rate sped up, they had been travelling for maybe half an hour but it seemed longer. Her watch was gone. She felt a little lost. She switched the phone on. No response, just black screen. She was guessing no battery, why oh why hadn't she charged it? She cursed quietly. It was probably around 1 o'clock in the morning and she just felt tired of all of this. With the help of the back light on her camera's display she inspected the chamber she was held in.

Underneath her, those objects that had been pressing awkwardly into her back were revealed to her. Bones. Judging by the pile, four small bones from a young child, now was not a good time to examine them but she rummaged in her coat plucking out a large evidence bag and put all of them in. She slipped the bag inside her coat in a hidden pocket then attached the coat to herself although it was too cramped to put it on. Also, she took the flashlight that had been mixed in with them and two screwdrivers. She quickly took photos of all of this. Temperance hurriedly rearranged her priorities. Popping the trunk was the only way she was getting out of here. Loud music began to thud through the car reverberating in the trunk. Just how stupid was Julian? He wouldn't even hear her escape. Temperance's spirits lifted and she almost smiled to herself.

OK first things first, getting into the actual car through the backseat was NOT a good idea. Maybe there was some trunk release? She searched in vain. No, she'd have to do it the old fashioned way. She began to fiddle with the latch with one of the screwdrivers, attempting to pry it open. She was almost screaming with frustration when finally it popped and the boot opened admitting cool air from outside, the stars glittered reassuringly at her, she slid to the edge. The car seemed to be traveling very fast, probably 120 km/h; there were no other cars in sight.

For a moment she teetered, legs stiff from the cramped boot. Here goes. She tightly hugged herself and bowed her head; the car had luckily slowed to allow another car to pass since the other drivers seemed very impatient tonight.

She leapt and rolled as soon as she felt herself touch the tarmac. Temperance felt her wrist pop, she suppressed the urge to scream out and continued to roll, tears of pain wetting her cheeks, gravel cutting her cheeks. She stopped and half pushed herself up with her good wrist. She could feel road burn stinging on her exposed back and arms. A thundering sound disturbed her moment of rest. She gazed up, eyes bright with tears. Flying towards her at an unbelievable speed was a huge truck; its giant headlights blinded her. She was stuck directly in its path all she could do was open her mouth an utter a small whimper past her raw throat.

"No."

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_I see you alerting this story but I don't see you reviewing. Don't make me beg :)_ LOVE YOU ALL.


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